COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAP - 09/04/12Here's a brief look at the highlights of week one of the college football season, a week which went according to plan. Although the rankings appeared to be spot-on, there was enough excitement to satisfy that college football craving that has been lurking since January. The rankings used in this recap are the preseason AP Rankings from prior to the games.

AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED #1 USC 49, Hawaii 10: With the postseason ban behind them, the Trojans did not waste any time as QB Matt Barkley connected with Marqise Lee for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the game, giving the Warriors a taste of the potent USC offense and Barkley his most successful first quarter ever with 194 passing yards.

#2 Alabama 41, Michigan 14: Although Coach Saban says they are a different team, the Crimson Tide looked a lot like its 2012 BCS National Champion self as they rolled over the Wolverines and dynamic quarterback Denard Robinson, serving Michigan its worst loss in a season-opener in the 133 years of Wolverine football.

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN#10 Arkansas 49, Jacksonville St. 24: After a rocky offseason, new Head Coach John L. Smith inherited a talented Razorback squad which proved to be too much to handle for the Gamecocks, with Tyler Wilson's back-to-back TDs to Chris Gragg in the second quarter and the return of Knile Davis, who missed all of last season with an ankle injury.

#18 Ohio State 56, Miami(OH) 10: Coach Meyer traded in his microphone for a headset, showing off a new style of Buckeye football with QB Braxton Miller setting an Ohio State quarterback record of 161 yards rushing and Devin Smith making the one-handed catch of a lifetime early in the second quarter that electrified Columbus. The Buckeyes are not bowl-eligible this season, making each victory all that much more significant.

IN-STATE BUT OUT-PLAYED

#11 West Virginia 69, Marshall 34: Geno Smith had a record-setting night, completing 32 of 36 passes without an interception, throwing for 323 yards and four touchdowns in a little over three quarters as the Mountaineers were too much for Marshall to handle in the final scheduled game of the state's only FBS teams.

#25 Louisville 32, Kentucky 14: With only 70 miles between them, Louisville earned state bragging rights and the Governor's Cup for the second year in a row against the Wildcats, with stellar performances from the Cardinals' Jeremy Wright, who rushed for three touchdowns and QB Teddy Bridgewater, who set a school record for completion percentage, throwing for 232 yards on 19-of-21 passing.

CLOSE CALL

#9 South Carolina 17, Vanderbilt 13: Vanderbilt led going into the fourth quarter, but Marcus Lattimore's one-yard touchdown run put the Gamecocks over the Commodores for good. With 1:47 to go in the game, a missed connection from Jordan Rogers to Jordan Matthews, which Vanderbilt believed was caused by a missed call against SC's D.J. Swearinger could have been a game changer.

#12 Wisconsin 26, Northern Iowa 21: After establishing a comfortable lead going into the half, Wisconsin quickly learned that Northern Iowa was not going to go out without a fight, outscoring the Badgers 21 to 13 in the second half. Unfortunately, it was too little too late for the Panthers, but definitely a wake up call for Wisconsin.

#13 Michigan State 17, #24 Boise State 13: The Broncos led by three at halftime, but were not able to score again and that would not be good enough after the amazing performance of the Spartan's Le'Veon Bell who had 44 carries, six receptions and more yards than the entire Boise State team, scoring a TD with 8:12 to go in the fourth quarter, putting Michigan State ahead for good.

#14 Clemson 26, Auburn 19: In a game that remained close throughout, never spreading further than a one possession differential, Clemson had the edge thanks to a sensational day from Andre Ellington, who rushed for 231 yards and DeAndre Hopkins, who had a school record-setting performance with 13 receptions including the amazing game-winning catch from QB Tajh Boyd with 9:17 to go in the fourth quarter.

#16 Virginia Tech 20, Georgia Tech 17: For the past seven years, the team that has won this match-up has gone on to win the division so this victory could potentially mean more for the Hokies than just another W, but taking down the Yellow Jackets was far from easy as this was the only Top 25 game that went into OT. VT Kicker Cody Journell, who missed a field goal in regulation, was able to redeem himself with a field goal to force OT and then the game winner, the first of his career.

#21 Stanford 20, San Jose State 17: Stanford Kicker Jordan Williamson finally got redemption with a game winning 46-yard field goal with 13:15 to go in the fourth quarter, after missing three field goals at the Fiesta Bowl last season, but putting Williamson aside, the Cardinal struggled greatly in its first game without former No.1 NFL Draft Pick Andrew Luck.

QB ADJUSTMENTS

#15 Texas 37, Wyoming 17: Winning the starting job in training camp over Case McCoy, David Ash helped lead the Longhorns to victory over the Cowboys, with the help of Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown who both rushed for more than 100 yards and combined for three touchdowns, securing the win with Bergeron's final TD in the fourth quarter.

#17 Nebraska 49, Southern Miss 20: QB Taylor Martinez's offseason work to improve his passing, including a trip to the Manning Passing Academy, proved to be effective as he threw for a career-high 354 yards and five touchdown passes to lead Nebraska to victory over the Golden Eagles.

UNSTOPPABLE OFFENSES

#5 Oregon 57, Arkansas St. 34: Redshirt freshman QB Marcus Mariota looked like a veteran in his first start for the Ducks by passing for 200 yards and three TDs, leading an offense that the Red Wolves could not stop, scoring 50 points in the first half alone.

#7 Florida St. 69, Murray St. 3: Totaling 606 yards of total offense, FSU's Lonnie Pryor, James Wilder Jr. and Debrale Smiley combined for seven rushing touchdowns as the Seminoles pulled ahead early and never looked back, creating a lead too great for Murray State.

#19 Oklahoma St. 84, Savannah St. 0: In the most lopsided victory since 1916 for OSU, the Cowboys shut out Savannah State, making the FCS school question whether the trip to Stillwater was worthwhile. With the majority of OSU's starters being pulled before the end of the first quarter, many Cowboy players had the chance to get some playing time.

#22 Kansas St. 51, Missouri St. 9: Although the score might lead one to believe otherwise, this game was close going into the half at 9-6. The second half was a different ball game as QB Collin Klein threw a pair of TDs, John Hubert ran 95 yards for a score and the Wildcats put up 42 unanswered points, while the Bears offense unraveled.

GOOD ENOUGH...THIS TIME

#3 LSU 41, North Texas 14: LSU's defense was the star of the show on a night when Death Valley was hoping to see something great from QB Zach Mettenberger. Fortunately, for the Tigers, the offensive running game, accounting for 316 yards, proved to be enough to as they rolled over North Texas and finished with 508 yards of offense, the most in a game since 2007.

#4 Oklahoma 24, UTEP 7: The Miners were on their way to an upset in El Paso, holding the Sooners to seven first downs and 75 yards outside of Landry Jones' 68-yard TD pass to Kenny Stills in the first quarter, but plagued by a string of missed field goals, Oklahoma proved to be just too much to handle.

#6 Georgia 45, Buffalo 23: After a sluggish first half, the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half, with freshman tailback Todd Gurley putting on a show, scoring three TDs, running for 100 yards and returning a kickoff for 100 yards. Georgia's defense was not at its best as the Bulls ran 70 plays and had 199 yards rushing.

#23 Florida 27, Bowling Green 14: Thanks to a set of missed field goals by the Falcons and a career-high night for Mike Gillislee with 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns, the Gators were able to pull off a win that proved to be a bit more challenging than expected.

VOTE FOR MANNING STARS

College football fans, be sure to "like" the official Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page (linked above) and vote each week for the Manning Award Player of the Week. The top quarterback performances from each week will be posted giving you the chance to vote for what you think was the best effort each week of the college football season.

MANNING AWARD STARS OF THE WEEK

While 25 quarterbacks are on the Manning Award Watch List, additional players may be added later in the season and every quarterback in the country remains eligible for the honor. Here's a look at the best performances of the second week of the football season:

Matt Barkley, USC(23-of-38, 372 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT) Barkley hooks up a 75-yard touchdown connection on the first play of the season to get USC rolling in a 49-10 wipeout of Hawaii.

Tyler Bray, Tennessee(27-of-41, 333 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT) Bray tallies his seventh career 300-yard game to lead the Volunteers to a key non-conference victory over N.C. State, 35-21.

Sam Durley, Eureka College(34-of-52, 736 yards, 5 TDs) Durley led Division III Eureka to a thrilling 62-55 victory over Knox by setting an NCAA record for passing yards. He tossed a pair of scoring strikes in the final two minutes of the game with the last coming with 20 clicks to go to give the Red Devils their first lead of the afternoon. He also set school records for all-time passing yardage, attempts and passing touchdowns in the game.

Braxton Miller, Ohio State(14-of-24, 207 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT) The sophomore adds 161 rushing yards, a school record for a quarterback, and another touchdown in a 56-10 blowout of Miami (Ohio) for Urban Meyer's Buckeye debut.

Taylor Martinez, Nebraska(26-of-34, 354 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT) Martinez, known more for his running skills than his passing skills, registers a career-high in passing yards in leading the Huskers to a 49-20 victory over Southern Miss.

Ryan Nassib, Syracuse(44-of-65, 470 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT) Nassib throws four second-half touchdowns and obliterates his own school record for completions (29), but it's not enough for the Orange, who fall to Northwestern, 42-41.

Matt Scott, Arizona(30-of-46, 387 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) Scott sets his career-high in passing yards, including a 10-yard scoring strike in overtime to give the Wildcats a 24-17 win over Toledo in the debut for coach Rich Rodriguez.

Geno Smith, West Virginia(33-of-37, 340 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT) Smith also runs for 65 yards and another score in a 69-34 crushing of state-rival Marshall as he becomes the Mountaineers all-time leader in touchdown passes and completions.

Tyler Tettleton, Ohio(31-of-41, 324 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT) Tettleton throws for two second half touchdowns and runs for another as the Bobcats come from behind to upend Penn State, 24-14, on the road.

TOP UPCOMING GAMES

(current AP standings)

#24 Florida at Texas A&M: The Aggies make their SEC debut at home against the Gators; it's also the season opener for Texas A&M as its scheduled opener against Louisiana Tech was postponed due to Hurricane Isaac.

#7 Georgia at Missouri: In another SEC debut, Mizzou and standout scrambling quarterback James Franklin looks to make a national statement when it hosts the Bulldogs in Columbia.

#18 Oklahoma State at Arizona: The Cowboys have scored 30� points in 19 straight games, the longest streak in the nation; they travel to Arizona where Rich Rodriguez hopes to redeem himself with an upset victory.

Miami (Fla.) at #21 Kansas State: The Wildcats and star quarterback Colin Klein look to continue their success of 2011 with a measuring stick of a non-conference game against the Hurricanes.

#13 Wisconsin at Oregon State: The Badgers have their sights set on another Big Ten title, but to climb into the national title picture, they will have to pick up this win on the road against a Pac-12 foe.

Washington at #3 LSU: The Tigers were impressive this past weekend against North Texas, but this week, they have a bigger challenge with Pac-12 foe Washington and its star quarterback Keith Price.

Duke at #25 Stanford: While many will see it as an "Academic Bowl," this could be an interesting game - Duke looked impressive in a season-opening win over Florida International while he Cardinal struggled against San Jose State.

Each week, the Allstate Sugar Bowl will make its YouTube Pick of the Week, top highlights, impressive off-field performances, great games and amazing plays, including Ohio State's Devin Smith's one-handed TD catch of a lifetime early in the second quarter against Miami(OH).